The Dark Guardian
by Orlandu
Summary: This is the story of the Dark Guardian. How he came to be what he is. And how five girls changed his life forever...
1. A Plan Most Foul

Author's Note: This is my first fanfic and I'm really excited. Hope to get a lot of reviews. Well, here goes nothing.

(A/N: Author's Note)

_Italicize: _Thoughts

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except the original ones. W.I.T.C.H. and all other characters are property of…whoever owns them. But this story is mine. All mine! Get your own story! (Wow, my first disclaimer. :))

The Dark Guardian

It was the most beautiful day Meridian had seen in a long time. Finally, after so much waiting and hoping, Phobos had been defeated. The Guardians had won, Elyon had returned, and the future looked bright. Everyone in the city was outside, celebrating the new age and the coming days of peace and prosperity.

One such celebrant was a little girl, who stood with her dad at the edge of the street, watching the parade go by. For her, today was like waking up from a bad dream. Everyone was smiling, happy. Everything was perfect.

As she looked from one face to the next, taking in the smiles and smiling back, someone caught her eye. On the other side of the street, standing behind everyone else, was a man with long, black hair. He was staring right at her, with a weird smile on his face.

There was something about that smile, something she didn't like. She'd seen it before, she knew it, but she couldn't remember where.

As she looked at the strange man, his smile got bigger and bigger, and his eyes grew wider and wider. And as they did, she became more and more frightened.

_I don't like that smile, _she thought. _Stop it…stop looking at me!_ Then she remembered. She knew that smile now. It was the same smile that monster had; the monster Phobos sent to her house that night. The same smile he wore right before they took her mom away, while she lay screaming her name…

She wanted to say something; to yell, to scream, but she'd lost her voice. She wanted to turn away; but her eyes wouldn't move. She stood there; waiting, waiting for the man to do something, something that would make her cry, make her scream.

Then, a person walked between them. For an instant, she lost sight of the scary man. But when the person walked away, and she saw that man again, what she saw made her gasp.

_He's a monster,_ she thought. Suddenly, she could move again. And she found that she'd been holding her breath. Taking deep gulps of air, she tugged on her dad's arm, tore her gaze away from the man for a second to get his attention. He looked down at her and said, "What is it, honey?" She pointed and looked back at the monster, but he wasn't there. She looked up and down the street, but the scary man had vanished. _Where'd he go?_ She looked up at her dad, but he was already talking to her mom again, who'd just been freed from Phobos' prison. So she turned back to stare at where the man-monster had been, wondering where he'd gone...

* * *

The man the girl was looking for had taken an alley to get away. As he walked, he laughed quietly at the scare he'd given her. His face was back to normal, and now that he wasn't standing behind a throng of people, you could see that he was wearing black robes over a black shirt with black pants, black gloves, black shoes, black everything. In fact the only part of him that wasn't black was his skin, which was pale. 

As he continued walking, he waved his hand in front of him. As he did this, a portal appeared in front of him. This portal was purple, not blue, and when he stepped through it, he emerged still in Meridian, but far away, in the ruins of a great city, in the dead of night.

He now walked down an abandoned street, the only sounds coming from his boots hitting the road, the only lights coming from the moon and stars. Tall, stone buildings, once elegantly decorated but now ravaged by time and war, rose around him, but he didn't look up. He simply walked on, as if he'd traveled this road a hundred times.

Finally, he came to a large, stadium-like building, complete with a dome on top. "No place like home," he said with an amused smile, and went inside.

As he entered through the huge doors a small, winged creature flew down to him. It looked like a human, if humans were two feet tall, and had bat wings, red eyes, pointed ears, spiked hair, leathery skin, horns, and claws on its hands and feet. When it spoke, its voice was like a snake, and as it talked it smiled with a mouth full of fangs and a forked tongue.

"How was your trip, Master?" The little creature said.

"It was filled with delight, sunshine, and the laughter of children. Everyone was happy, and the whole town seemed filled with joy and hope." The man replied with a smile so bright that it had to be fake.

"That bad, huh?"

"Ugh, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Although I did take the time to scare one little girl." At this the man moved down the huge hallway, followed by his servant.

"So it's true, then? Phobos is dethroned?"

"Indeed it is, Greeva. Our chance has come at last."

The two to them then came to a room that, when entered, was filled with books, scrolls, and charts. The man stepped up to the center of the room, where a crystal globe sat on a pedestal. It had a three-foot diameter and seemed to be filled with swirling clouds. There were no torches in the room, but the globe gave off some illumination of its own, which was enough to see by.

"I'm sorry, Master, but I don't see how this is our chance. Will it not be harder to take the throne now that the Guardians are here to protect it?"

"Oh Greeva, how little you know. It is because of the Guardians that I have this chance, and I'll tell you why. Are you familiar with the concept of universal balance?"

"No, my Master."

"The law of universal balance states that for every power, there is an equal and opposite power. For every right there is a wrong, for every force of good there is a force of evil. And for every bright light, there is a deep darkness. Do you understand?"

"Um, yes."

"Good, Now tell me, what do you think happens when two opposite forces come into conflict, and one of those forces is destroyed or rendered harmless? What happens to the balance?"

"Um, it is unbalanced?"

"One again, correct. Now, when one force is destroyed, it leaves a void in the universe. A void that may be filled with a new, stronger force. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Uhh…give me a second…" Greeva thought hard. Then, his eyes widened in enlightenment. "You're saying that since the Guardians defeated Phobos, there's room for a new evil to take its place!"

"Precisely."

"And were that evil, right?"

"Actually, no."

"N-no? But then, how does this help us take over Meridian?"

The man chuckled. "Because, Greeva, we now have the chance to create and control that evil"

"Huh?"

"I have found someone Greeva. A person who holds within him enormous potential for harnessing the powers of darkness. I will take him, and turn him into my champion, into a warrior with powers even greater than those of the Guardians! And then, with him leading my armies, I will destroy the Guardians, and take the world into darkness once more! Ahahahahahahahaaa!"

"Brilliant, Master. But, if I may ask one question?"

"Yes, Greeva?"

"Now, you're going to make this person stronger than the Guardians, right?"

"Yes."

"Which means, he'll be stronger than you, right?"

"Right."

"Right, so, here's my question. Aren't you worried that he might turn on you? Why not simply make yourself stronger?"

"First of all, that's two questions. And second of all, you're right Greeva, I could do that. But the risks would be great. You see, darkness is a very dangerous power. If you're not careful, it can consume you; overwhelm you with its power. If that happens, you're soul will be lost, and you will forever be a slave to the dark and to the emotions that led you down that path."

"I see. So, you will have this champion consumed by the darkness instead of yourself, is that it?"

"That is my plan. He will become my puppet, an extension of my will, consumed with rage and hatred. He will want nothing but the blood of his enemies. And I will give him that."

"Once again, you have concocted a brilliant plan, Master. So, when will we get this warrior?"

"I'm leaving right now to pick him up."

"Now? But you just got here!"

"Yes, Greeva. But now is the time to act. My plan is already in motion. Very soon, my warrior will be ready. Don't wait up, Greeva. I'll be back in a few hours." And with that, the man created another portal. As he was about to step through, he turned back to Greeva. "If you want, you can use my crystal to watch my plan unfold. Trust me, it will be a sight to behold."

Then he left, the portal disappearing behind him. Greeva looked at where the portal had disappeared for a moment, and then turned to look into the crystal. As he put his hands to the surface, the clouds beneath it gave way, revealing a scene taking place far away, where a young man was walking down a road, unaware of the dark forces gathering around him.

* * *

Alright, first chapter done! I'm hoping to update soon, probably over spring break. Please review, I'd like to know what you think. Oh, and I'm having a hard time thinking of a name for my main character, the dark guardian. If you have any ideas let me know. Till next time, see ya! 


	2. A Normal Life

Author's Note: Well, here it is, chapter two. I finally settled on a name for my main character. Hooray for me: ) Also, I'd like to thank Demmie for being the first person to review my story. sniff Thanks for the encouragement, Demmie; I'll try to keep it up. Oh, and as for your question, this story is based on the cartoon version of W.I.T.C.H. And so, without further ado, here's chapter two of The Dark Guardian.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained herein except for the original ones. This story is of my own creation and it's not for sale. So get your own, copycats! Heehee!

* * *

"Eliot," cried a voice over the wind. "Eliot! Time to eat!"

On a green hill over looking a small village, a boy of 15 sat up and turned his head. His short, white hair blew around his head in the breeze, and as he looked toward his home town he smiled.

_She must be magic,_ he thought to himself. _It doesn't matter how far from home I am, or how noisy it is, I can always hear her when she calls me._ The boy, Eliot, got up off the ground and brushed the grass and dirt off his white tunic and gray pants. Then he bent over, picked up his wooden sword, and started off for home.

Eliot's village was a nice place to live, even in Meridian. It was three day's ride to the palace where Phobos ruled, but despite his tyranny, none of his evil seemed to reach this place. Maybe that was because there was nothing out here. Just the fields where the farmer's grew food and the woods where the loggers chopped wood. Every harvest time, the men would take their crops to the capitol to sell them, and then they would come back. Eliot's father also went with them, since he was the blacksmith who made tools for farming and shoes for loadbeasts. (A/N: I don't think they have horses in Meridian, so I'm gonna use the word loadbeast.) He went with them in case a wagon or shoe broke. Since Eliot had never traveled to another city, he often asked his dad about what it was like. But his father never said. All he would say is "Be glad you live here, Eliot, for life isn't so kind to those who live near the castle."

Eliot didn't understand when he was young, but he didn't really care. There was only one thing Eliot had wanted his entire life: to be a knight. Like in the days before Phobos, when brave warriors traveled across the land, protecting the weak and defeating evil. That was his dream, and that was why he practiced swordsmanship every day with his father, who had once been a soldier himself.

As Eliot walked through the village, he swung his fake sword back and forth, practicing the way his father had shown him, trying to commit the moves to memory, to instinct, so that he could react instantly in battle. As he did so, he imagined himself in some far off land, fighting off some terrible monster with a real sword that shined with light. He became so lost in dreams of valor and glory, that as he rounded a corner to take a shortcut he ran into someone and fell back on the ground. When he looked up and saw who it was, the smile on his face vanished.

"Well, well, if it isn't little Eliot. Playing hero again, are we?"

"H-hey, Veger. H-how's it going?"

Veger was the local gang-leader, if you could call the two thick-headed idiots who followed him everywhere a gang. He was only a year older than Eliot, but ever since they were kids he never missed a chance to beat him when he could get away with it.

"You should watch where you're going, Eliot. You wouldn't want to hurt yourself would you?" Veger said with mock concern. Then he started closing in. Eliot got up and tried to back out of the alley, but instead he backed into Trom, one of Veger's goons, who unfortunately was massive enough to block his escape route. And of course there was his brother coming up behind Veger.

"See, there you go again, running right into Trom. Say boys, why don't we teach Eliot here what happens when you're not careful?"

The three of them smiled at that, and as they closed in, all Eliot could do was close his eyes and cover his head.

* * *

A few minutes later, Veger and his gang walked out of the alley, laughing like idiots and saying things like "What a loser" and "Hero wanna-be". Eliot, on the other hand, had to push himself up off the ground and start limping home, sporting a black eye that made his blue eye stand out. As he left the alley, he pulled himself together and walked normally in spite of the pain. _Real warriors are strong,_ he thought with a grimace and a frown. _A real warrior wouldn't show pain. Stupid Veger. He'll see. Someday I'll be strong enough to beat him and all his goons. Then he'll be sorry._

When he reached his house at the edge of town he stood outside the door and thought about what excuse he could make up about the bruises and the black eye. He knew from personal experience how protective his mother could be. If she found out what had happened, she'd go talk to Veger's dad, who would punish Veger, who would beat up Eliot twice as hard the next day. But he couldn't think of an excuse, so he sighed and went inside.

"Ellie!" screamed a little girl with blond hair as she ran to give him a hug. Actually, it was more like she gave his legs a hug, since she only came up to his knees. "Hey, Sarah," he said to his little sister. She looked up at him with her big, green eyes that she got from their dad and smiled the biggest smile you'd ever seen. Everyone in town agreed she was the cutest girl in the whole village. She and Eliot were as close as siblings could be, and he always found time to play her favorite game, Save the Princess. Eliot reached down and shook her golden hair. Except for the eyes, she looked just like a smaller, cuter version of their mother. Seeing her face always managed to make Eliot feel better.

Right then his mother walked into the room from the kitchen and said "Welcome home Eliot, lunch is on the…what happened to your face?" She looked stricken as she stared at his black eye."

"It's nothing."

"It most certainly isn't nothing! Did that boy Veger do this to you? Oh, I am going to have a serious talk with that boy's father…"

"Mom, don't. I can hardly feel it anyway."

But his mother wouldn't listen. Once she started on something it would take a lot more than her son to stop her. So while she went back into the kitchen to get something for his eye, muttering things like "…should send him to the army, that'd straighten him out," Eliot knelt down and told his sister, "I'm gonna go find Dad. Why don't you go help Mom? You know how she gets."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she doesn't break anything."

"Great." And with that Eliot went back outside and walked around the house to where his dad kept his smithy.

His father was already busy working on a shovel when he came in. Eliot stood back so as not to disturb him. But like his mom, Eliot's dad seemed to have a magic of his own that let him know whenever he was around.

"I'll be with you in a moment, son," he said without looking at him. He finished hammering the red-hot piece of metal and shoved it into a trough of water to cool. Then he turned to his son. Eliot's dad looked like a taller, more muscular version of himself. Eliot wanted to be just like him one day: tall, strong, handsome, tough but kind, and very loving toward his family. He was Eliot's role model, once the quintessential knight, now a family man living a simpler life.

His father pointed to Eliot's eye and said, "Did Mom see that yet?"

"She's already on her usual rant inside. Sarah's trying to keep her from breaking the good plates."

"Heh. Good luck with that." His father picked up the now cooled shovel blade with a set of tongs and put it in a pile of similar work from today.

"So, I take it you and Veger had another one of your arguments?"

Eliot's eyes narrowed, a frown crossed his face, and he clenched his fists as he said, "Someday I'm gonna get em'. One of these days I'm gonna be strong enough to beat every last one of them."

"Whoa, whoa son. Now being strong is fine and all, but don't go using it for the wrong reasons."

"I just…I'm so sick of being weak! Of not being able to fight back! How am I supposed to become a great knight if I can't even stop someone like Veger from beating me up! I can't protect others; I can't even protect myself…"

Eliot stared at the ground, and his father looked at him thoughtfully. Then his father walked over and grasped his son's shoulder with his hand.

"One day you _will_ be able to, son. One day you'll be strong enough not just to protect yourself, but everyone and everything you care about. You'll see."

"…What if I don't? What if I never get stronger?"

"Eliot, look at me. You're a hard worker, and you've never given up on anything you've ever started. As long as you keep that spirit and never give in to defeat, I'm sure you'll fulfill your dreams someday."

Eliot smiled at that. He looked up at his dad and said, "That is such a 'dad' thing to say." Then he gave his dad a hug and said, "Thanks, Dad."

Don't mention it. Now let's go inside and see if you're mom's broken the good dishes."

They shared a good laugh and walked around to the front door. Before he went in, Eliot saw something.

"Hey, Dad. There's something going on down the street."

"What is it, son?"

His father came to stand beside him and followed Eliot's line of sight.

"I don't know."

They both squinted. It looked like a riot was going on. Then Eliot realized what was happening, and his eyes grew wide with fear. A group of savage-looking men riding war-beasts (A/N: those rhino-like creatures from Episode 1) were charging through the village, breaking down doors and lighting houses on fire!

Eliot couldn't believe his eyes. _Oh my Lord,_ he thought. _Someone's attacking the village!

* * *

_

Well, how's that for a cliff hanger? I'm already almost done with chapter 3, so I'll have that up soon. Hope to hear from you again, Demmie, and from a lot of others too! Till next time, see ya!


	3. A New Dream or a Nightmare?

And here it is the shocking next installment of The Dark Guardian. This is Orlandu here, wanting to thank everyone who helped make all this possible. I guess that would be…hmm, me, me, me, and me! Just kidding! I'd also like to thank all my readers, my friends and family, and the wonderful people who created the W.I.T.C.H. cartoon, the W.I.T.C.H. books, and all things W.I.T.C.H. related. Thank you all so much. And now, on with the show! Or story in this case. : )

WARNING: This chapter, while it contains no violence, does have some slightly graphic scenes in it. This is why the story is rated T. Don't worry, it's not too bad.

Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters in this story that are from W.I.T.C.H., except for the original ones. I also own this story, so don't go getting any ideas of stealing it! You know who you are! I'm watching you!

* * *

"Eliot, get inside! Dammit, Eliot, come on!" His father had to pull him into the house as the men attacking the village closed in on their house. 

"Who are these guys, Dad?"

"They must be raiders."

"Raiders! But why here?"

"I don't know son, but come on!"

Eliot's dad opened a door and shoved him inside. Eliot found himself at the top of a stair case. This was the basement.

"Stay here and don't come out!"

"But what about you?"

"I'll get your Mom and Sarah! Now stay here!"

"But-," Slam! The door was shut. Eliot stood there, thinking desperately _What do I do? What do I do!_ Then he heard another door burst open and a young girl screamed.

_Sarah!_ Eliot tried to open the door, but for some reason it wouldn't! _It's stuck? No!_ He banged on the door, screaming "Mom! Dad! Sarah!

There were strange voices now, and the sounds of a fight coming through the door.

_I've got to do something!_ He tried to break the door down, but it wouldn't fall. Then he took a step back, to get a running start. But in his fear, he forgot that he was on a staircase. "Wha-," was all he got out before he fell. WHAM! BAM! BANG! SLAM! CRASH! POW! THUNK! He hit the floor head first. The last thing he heard before he fell unconscious was the sound of a girl screaming, "Daddy!"

* * *

_Later that day…_

"Uhhhh…" Eliot's head was pounding as he woke up. He touched it with one hand and winced at the pain.

"What happened?"

As he sat up, which sent another wave of pain through his head, he looked around the room. _The basement…what am I doing here? Owww…something about the village and…Oh no! The village, Sarah!_

Forgetting the pain in his head, Eliot got to his feet and shot up the stairs. This time, the door gave way under his charge. As he burst out from the basement screaming, "Mom! Dad! Sarah!" he looked around his home. Everything lay in shambles. The table was broken, the furniture overturned. All of their posessions lay strewn across the floor. The place looked like it had been sacked.

"No," he whispered. The front door was broken in, so he stepped outside to see what had happened. He didn't bother to look in the kitchen, so he didn't see the bloody arm lying across the doorway. Or to whom it was attached to.

The sight that greeted him outside was beyond what he feared. Beyond even his worst nightmares because it was real. The entire village was on fire. Houses were burning, and smoke covered the sky. Windows were shattered, doors broken in, and all kinds of objects lay broken on the road, things the bandits didn't consider worth taking.

But worst of all, by far worst of all, was the bodies. Eliot walked down the street in a daze, a look of utter shock covering his face. _No,_ he thought as he looked at the bloody forms lying on the ground. These were the bodies of people he knew, people who just a little while ago were talking, laughing, living! Their bodies were torn apart, bleeding freely onto the ground. There faces were masks of horror and pain, and their eyes stared blankly at nothing. _This can't be real. This can't be hap-. _His foot caught on someone, and when he saw who it was, he froze.

Time stopped. His blood ran cold. His breath caught in his chest. He felt his legs buckle, and he fell to his knees.

_No,_ he thought. _Not them. Anyone but them._ He ran his hand through her short, blond hair and looked into her green eyes.

"Sarah…" he said, his voice faint, almost a whisper. Then he looked at the other, at the pretty blue eyes and simple dress.

"Mom…"

"Sarah, wake up. Please wake up." She lay motionless, her eyes staring at nothing. As he looked at them, at their faces, he felt tears well up in his eyes, his breathing wracked with sobs. He could feel something awful building up inside him.

"No…no…" then he closed his eyes, reared his head back and screamed for all his might.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

His cry echoed throughout the town and across the fields, but no one was alive to hear it. No one, that is, save one.

After screaming his grief to the winds, Eliot fell on top of Sarah's body, sobbing.

"They're dead. Dead! They're all dead!" he cried, punching the earth every time he said "dead."

"Mom. Dad. Sarah. Everyone I knew is dead!"

"How tragic," said a somber voice behind him.

"Huh?" Eliot turned his head to look. And there, standing behind him, was a hooded man dressed in black.

"Who are you?" Eliot said as he got up. _Is he a bandit?_

"A traveler," the man said. "I saw the smoke rising from afar and came to see if I could help. It seems I arrived too late, though. I thought there were no survivors when I heard your scream. You must have luck on your side if you survived."

The man took a few steps forward, stopping near him.

"Luck?" Eliot said looking down at the ground. "What kind ofluck strips you of everything you ever knew and leaves you with this?"

"That is true. I wonder, how _did_ you survive, when everyone else was…?"

"I survived…because I couldn't fight." Bitterness sank into Eliot's voice. "I wanted to help Dad fight off the bandits, but he locked me in the basement. I tried to break down the door, but I wasn't strong enough…Damn it!" He punched the ground again and shouted in anger. "I couldn't save them! I couldn't even break down a stupid door and die with them! I couldn't do anything! So weak! Too weak to do anything!"

The hooded man looked on as Eliot cursed his weakness. Then he said, "I see. So you weren't strong enough to fight with them. And now you are left here, all alone, with nothing left. Truly yours is a cruel fate…But perhaps, luck is with you after all."

Eliot looked up at the stranger again and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Look around you, boy. You stand among the bodies of your murdered family. You know who did this to them. When you think about that, how do you feel?"

"Ashamed…sad…angry. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Stand up, boy, and listen. You now have a chance, a chance to avenge the deaths of your family. Look around you, boy! You saw the one's who did this, did you not? You know who's responsible, do you not? Don't you want to make them pay? Don't you want to bring them the justice they so rightly deserve!"

Eliot stood and looked around him. He looked at the burning village, at the bodies of the villagers, at the destruction and death. He thought about the bandits, those cruel, monstrous beasts of men who laughed and smiled as they cut down his family. As he thought this, his blood began to boil. He could feel the rage, the hatred rising up. He clenched his fists and shook with anger. But just as the man was beginning to smile, Eliot stopped shaking and let his hands fall limp.

"But what can I do? I can't even break down a stupid door to save my family. How can I avenge them?"

The man smiled understandingly and walked closer. He now stood face to face with the boy (well, face to chest, actually, since the man was a head taller than Eliot).

"And so fate has brought me to you, young man. I am no ordinary traveler. I am in fact a powerful sorcerer."

Eliot looked up at him and said, "A what?"

" I understand how you feel. You wish to be stronger, so you can avenge your family's murder. I can help you. I can make you stronger."

"You can? How?"

"There are ways, my boy. But I warn you that it will not be easy. I can give you vast powers, powers that will enable you to strike down the men who did this with awe-inspiring ease. But it will be up to you to learn to control those powers. It will be difficult. It will be painful. But if you have the will, the dedication, the perseverance to go through the training it requires, I promise you, you will never be weak again. And you will make those men pay for their crimes. Well, what do you say?"

Eliot stared blankly at the man, then lowered his gaze to stare blankly ahead of him and think. _He says he can make me stronger. Strong enough to fight those bandits, to make them pay. Can I trust him? _He turned to look at the bodies of his mother and sister, lying on the ground. His eyes narrowed and the anger returned. _Those bastards…they did this to my family. They took everything from me, just so they could steal our valuables. I'll make them pay for this. I swear it._

Eliot looked the man in the eyes and said, "I don't care what I have to do. I'm ready for anything. Give me the strength I need to find the ones who did this. I'm going to make them pay."

The man smiled and said, "I can see the resolve in your eyes. Very well, I will give you what you seek. Stand still."

Then the man took a step back and raised his arm right in front of the boys face. He held his hand open and said, "This may hurt a little. Brace yourself."

Eliot took a deep breath and steeled himself. Then it happened. His eyes bulged and his body stiffened as a powerful force rocked his body. He felt as if an electric shock was racing through his limbs. It did hurt, it hurt his entire body, but Eliot clenched his fists and his jaw and refused to scream. As power coursed through his body, Eliot was barely aware of his body lifting off from the ground. A dark aura now surrounded his form, and as it did, the man's smile grew wider. Finally, unable to hold it in, Eliot screamed in pain and shook with it. When his voice faded, so did the aura, and he fell gently back to the ground as the man lowered his arm. The spell was finished.

For a few moments, Eliot stood there, breathing deeply. Then, he lifted his hands to his face and looked at them. They looked the same, but he could feel something beneath them. He could feel…power. _So this is what it's like,_ he thought.

"Now listen, boy. You have now been given the power of darkness. But this is only the first step. You cannot yet control that power, or even release it. It will take a long time, months of training, to learn to release the power within you. Once you have, then you will be ready to find those bandits. Then you will be ready to make them pay."

"I don't care," Eliot said with a dark look on his face. "I'm ready to do whatever it takes. I will find them, and when I do, nothing will save them from their punishment." Then he turned around, took a deep breath, and shouted. "You hear that, bandits? I'm going to find you, and when I do I swear I will make you pay for what you did here today! I swear on the lives you have ended, I will not rest until I have KILLED EVERY LAST ONE OF YOUUUUU!"

Then the man said to Eliot, "You should come now, boy. I'll take you back to my home, where we will begin your training."

Eliot looked at the man and said, "My name is Eliot. And I say good. The sooner I get started, the sooner I can get those bastards."

And with that, the two of them walked off.

Far, far away, in an abandoned city, in a domed building, the little demon known as Greeva was cackling like a madman as he watched the two of them leave. "Oh Master, this is too perfect! The boy suspects nothing, and soon he will not even care! Oh, how exciting this all is! I must go and prepare for their arrival!" And so Greeva flew off, laughing crazily as the crystal globe once again clouded over.

* * *

Well, what do you think? Pretty exciting, huh? Just so you know, the fourth chapter will be the first with the guardians in it, and it will probably be a lot longer, so it will take a little longer to write. Well, I must be off now. Oh, and before I forget, I forgot to thank someone. I'd also like to thank Demmie, my faithful reviewer, and all the fine people who maintain the Fanfiction site, since it's thanks to them I can even post this story. Thank you, everyone! Till next time, see ya! 


	4. The Calm Before The Storm

Well, here it is chapter four. This was actually going to be a lot longer, but the more I wrote out the more it overwhelmed me. I thought, _this is gonna take hours to type up on the computer_. I'm not so good at sitting down for hours without moving, so I decided to cut the chapter in half and make it into two. You know, the same thing happened in chapters 2 and 3. Well, enough of that. On with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters in my story that are from W.I.T.C.H. I do own this story however, and if I find out you've stolen it, I'll hunt you down like the dog you are and beat you to a pulp!Just kidding. Hahahahaha! Seriously though, I'll kill you.

* * *

_6 months later…_

It was another beautiful day in the kingdom of Meridian. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the clouds were nice and fluffy. And on a country road bordered by fields on one side and a forest on the other the scenery was no less bright. The fields were green, the trees were tall, and the flowers were blooming in a rainbow of colors. In the distance one could see a flock of hoogongs hanging out, doing whatever hoogongs do when they don't have anything better to do. Yeah, it really was a beautiful day.

Unfortunately for the five travelers riding down the road, fatigue, boredom, and anxiety kept them from enjoying the natural wonder around them. They'd been traveling in this manner for a few days now, and since none of them were very accustomed to this form of travel, their journey had understandably made them rather cranky. Or in one person's case, very cranky.

"What are we _doing_ here anyway?"

"Oh come on, Corny, we've already told you five times already. We're going to look for this new evil thing the Mage saw."

"I know _that_. What I mean is, why are we _riding_ to this city? Can't we just open a portal? And don't call me Corny, Irma!"

Before Irma could come back with a witty retort, Will decided to answer Cornelia's question.

"We can't use a portal because Hay Lin's grandma said that portals open in places relative to where they are in each world. Since the place we're going to is three day's ride from the castle, we'd have to travel three days away from Heatherfield to open a portal to our destination."

"Couldn't we at least take a car from home? If we did that we would've gotten there days ago."

This time it was Taranee who answered. "We tried that. Well, we would have, but when I compared maps of Earth and Meridian, it turned out that the city we're traveling to is in the middle of a forest on Earth. No roads on Earth go near where we're heading. At least in Meridian they have a path that goes there."

Then Hay Lin jumped in and added, "And we can't fly because we can't carry three days worth of food and supplies in our arms. Sorry Corny, I guess you're just gonna have to rough it."

Cornelia whirled over to stare at Hay Lin and said, "Don't you start calling me that too, Hay Lin!"

Hay Lin just smiled while Irma laughed. Outnumbered; Cornelia just turned to face forward again and sighed heavily. Then she asked Will, "Just how much farther is it?"

Will answered, "We've been riding for two days now, so we should be there by tonight."

"Uh, thank goodness. Let's just hurry up and find this guy so we can get back to earth."

Irma looked over at her with a grin and said, "Got another hot date to go on?"

"Shut up, Irma." Cornelia leaned over and gave the water guardian a half-hearted shove. She couldn't hide the fact that she was blushing, however.

Will sighed. Ever since Cornelia and Caleb had made their relationship "official" by going out on dates, Irma had wasted no time in teasing them about it. Will found these jokes both funny and a little sad at the same time. First of all, Irma's little jokes could always make her smile, and they were never very serious. But on the other hand, they also reminded her that Cornelia and Caleb didn't have as much time together as they wanted. Now that Elyon was on the throne, and since she still didn't know that much about ruling a kingdom, Caleb had a lot of work to do as her advisor. That's why he hadn't come along with the guardians, even though he probably wanted do. He was still a leader after all, even if the rebellion was over.

While Will was thinking this the other girls carried on their conversation.

Hay Lin said, "I kinda miss Caleb. It feels like there's something missing, you know?"

"You mean like the way he was always questioning our weird Earth 'traditions', or how he always went on about how much tougher people in Meridian are?"

"Yeah, like that."

Irma replied, "Yeah, it does feel like something's missing." Then she looked over at Cornelia, who looked depressed. "Although I bet we don't miss him as much as Cornelia here. How bout it, eh? You get to second base yet?"

"Shut up, Irma!" And Cornelia tried to bat her over the head. Her blushing only got stronger.

"Hahahaha! I'm not hearing a no!"

While this was going on, Taranee urged her mount forward and made her way to the front of the group, holding a map in her hands. She pulled up beside Well and looked ahead.

Will looked over and asked, "What is it, Taranee?"

"Since this is supposed to be the last day, I've been checking our position. We passed that lake a few miles back, so we should be able to see the city by now. I wonder why we can't."

"Maybe you'd be able to tell with a bird's eye view. What do you think?"

Taranee smiled. "It has been awhile since I got to fly."

"Alright then." Will stopped her mount and reached for the Heart of Candracar.

"Guardians Unite!"

One flash of bright light and a few sound effects later, Will and the others were transformed into the Guardians of the Veil.

"Hey, what the-," said Irma, who was caught off guard. Then she saw Taranee fly up into the sky. "All right, I needed a brake," she said with a smile, then shot up to join her fiery friend.

With a "Woohoo!" and a "About time", the air and earth guardians joined them. Irma noticed however that Will wasn't with them. "Hey Will, come on up!"

"I think I'll stay here and watch the animals."

Of course Irma would have none of that. She flew down, grabbed Will's arms and started lifting her. "Oh no, you don't. You need this as much as we do so come on!"

"H-hey! Watch it!" Irma got Will half way off her seat before Will gave in. "Alright, alright. I'm coming."

Will flew up to join the others and stretched her arms and legs in the air. "Ummm, boy that feels good."

The others were flying around her, working off the pent-up energy they had from sitting for so many hours.

"Hey, I think I see it!" yelled Taranee, who was higher up than the others. Will looked over in the same direction and saw, a few miles off, what appeared to be a small city.

"Looks like just another hour away," said Will. In her head she added _well, now we can begin our search for…for whatever it is we're supposed to be searching for._

As she looked on at the city, her mind wandered back to the day she found out about their new adventure. She remembered it like it was yesterday… (A/n: Ultimate cliché, I know. Sue me.)

* * *

_Five days ago, in the Silver Dragon…_

"A new evil?" asked Will, who was sitting at a table with the four other guardians.

"Indeed," said Yan Lin. "The Mage foresaw it in her dreams. We need you to go out and stop this evil before it spreads."

"So much for a relaxing summer vacation," said Cornelia.

Irma was actually smiling. "Aww, lighten up. It's not like we had anything else to do around here. Besides, I could use a little exercise. It's been forever since I got to kick evil butt."

"Please, girls, you must not take this lightly. From what the Mage saw, this evil will be more dangerous than anything you have faced so far."

Then Taranee asked, "So, uh, what does this new evil look like?"

"No idea."

"No idea?" said the five girls in unison.

"Well, you see girls, dreams and visions are very symbolic. You don't always get a clear-cut picture of what will happen. More often than not, you have to decipher what the dreams mean."

"What did the Mage see then, grandma?"

"What she saw was a city. The city of Terendel, to be precise. She saw a dark cloud hanging over the city, a storm like no other. Then, the storm cloud grew, spreading out in all directions. It blocked out the sun, and covered the entire land in shadow. The entire kingdom was plunged into eternal night."

"Wow," said Hay Lin. "So you have no idea who this guy is, or what he looks like?"

"All we know is that he will appear in the city of Terendel in three days."

"Three days? What are we supposed to do till then?" Irma asked. She actually looked crestfallen.

"Ride," said Yan Lin matter-of-factly.

"Ride?" said Cornelia.

"Ride where?" asked Will.

"To Terendel, of course. It'll take you three days just to get there."

"WHAT?" said everyone, once again in unison.

* * *

Will smiled and laughed as she thought about that scene. They hadn't had a moment like that since Phobos was defeated. Will hadn't realized it then, but ever since they won that war something seemed to be missing from their lives. Something important. Will finally realized what it was when she realized she was going on another adventure. _It's being a Guardian,_ she thought. _Ever since we went back to our normal lives, it felt like there was something I was keeping locked up, something I needed to let out._ _Now I know what it is. Being a Guardian is part of who I am now._ Will took a deep breath and smiled. "It sure feels good to be back." 

"You said it, Will."

Will turned around to see Irma floating right behind her.

"Come on, fearless leader. Let's go kick this new guy's butt. We'll teach him not to mess with our world."

Will nodded. The two Guardians flew down together to join the others, who were already mounted again, ready to take on whatever was waiting for them in that city.

_Watch out, whoever you are,_ thought Will to herself. _The Guardians are back!_

_

* * *

_

Well, there you have it. I'm sorry it took so long, but for some reason I can't seem to think creatively outsideof school so I can't write till classes are over and I can go to the library.Oh, and by the way, I know I haven't had a lot of action in my story so far. But wait no longer, my battle-crazy readers! I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say there's a reason the next chapter is called Powers Collide. Mwahahahaha! Please review; I'd like to here what you think of my story! Till next time, see ya!


	5. Powers Collide pt1

Orlandu here, and once again a chapter has proven to be so long I've decided to cut it in half and post it as two. Sorry, I know I promised a lot of action in this chapter, but just wait a little bit longer. You know, the same thing happened with chapters 2 and 3. Please don't hate me! Ahhh! Anyway, enough chit chat. Here's part one of Powers Collide. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H., but I own this story and all the original characters in it. Copiers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again. Bang! On with the show.

* * *

The city of Terendel is known as a trading city. Located at the spot where a large road and a wide river cross paths, both of which experience a rather high level of traffic, it seemed only natural to build a city here. Every day ships sail up and down the river, and wagons pass through the gates of the city. People from all over the kingdom come to do business here and all manner of exotic foods, clothing, and supplies are constantly changing hands, being loaded onto ships and wagons to be taken out of the city, back to wherever they came from. Gems and stone from the northern mountains; salts and spices from the eastern desert; meat and grain from the southern fields; clothes and jewelry from the western ocean; just about anything and everything you could imagine could be found here, if you knew where to look. 

Not only are the wares of Terendel diverse and exotic, but so are the people. Races from all over the continent come here, making the city a veritable menagerie of life. Most look human enough, but it's not uncommon to find creatures with scales, or horns, or even fur and tails walking the streets. Some are blue, some are green, and some are even red and yellow.

Unfortunately for one person, it was that very diversity that was keeping him from finding what he was looking for. He walked down the streets wearing a black, hooded coat with matching gloves and shoes. Even in the middle of that busy street, filled with all sorts of weirdly dressed people, his dark costume stood out. The outfit hid his face and physique, but he still gave the impression of someone you didn't want to mess with.

Suddenly, he stopped walking and sighed. Looking to his left, he saw a small stand where someone was selling fruit.

"One, please." He took the red piece of fruit, turned around and leaned back against the stand. Then he used his free hand to lower his hood so he could take a bite. Now one could see that the person was a young man with blue eyes. He had white hair that was done in spikes that went down to just past his shoulders. He was rather handsome, but there was something in his eyes. They were cold, and hard. No one in their right mind was going to get lost in those eyes.

As he took a bite from his fruit, he thought about the task that was set before him. _How the hell am I supposed to find that guy in this mess?_ He looked at the crowds walking by, at the faces of the people here. _The Dark One said he was here in this city. He couldn't have been a little more specific?

* * *

_

Flashback…

"You've found them?" said Eliot in shocked disbelief. He was in the room with the crystal globe, speaking to the man who only went by 'The Master'. "Where are they? Tell me now!"

"Patience, Eliot, patience. I've only managed to find one of them. He's at the trading city of Terendel."

"Well what are you waiting for? Open a portal!"

"I said patience, my boy. You don't even know what he looks like."

The Master could tell from the furious look on Eliot's face that patience was probably the last thing on his mind. _Once this is over,_ he thought with a grin, _we'll have to work on his control. But for now, this works in my favor._

He then touched the globe and parted the clouds within it. "Look closely, boy. When I searched the bodies of dead bandits I found in your village, I noticed something similar about each of them. They all had the same symbol on their person somewhere. Tattooed on their arm or sown on their clothing. This is how you will recognize the man when you see him."

As he talked, the clouds in the crystal gave way, slowly revealing a symbol. It was a red boar drawn within a red circle. When he was done conjuring the symbol, the Master looked over at Eliot. The boy was standing there, staring intensely at the symbol. He knew that Eliot was burning the image into his head, along with the memories of that terrible day. As he watched, he could almost feel the hatred growing inside his young warrior. It was that anger that had pushed Eliot to train as hard as he did, to unlock and master the dark powers his master had bestowed upon him. Now, after all this time, his hard work would finally pay off.

The Master raised his hand and with a force of will opened a portal at the end of the room. "Well, I've told you everything you need to know. Now go, Eliot. Go and fulfill your oath. Avenge the death of your family."

Without a word Eliot turned and stepped towards the portal. Right before he stepped through, the Master said, "Oh, and Eliot!" The boy turned back to look at him. "Don't kill him too quickly," the Master said with a devilish grin. Eliot returned the look and then stepped through the portal.

* * *

After taking another bite, Eliot moved back into the crowds and made his way forward again. _I can't stop now. I swore that I'd make those bandits, those monsters pay for what they did. And until that day comes, I will never stop looking for them._

Then, Eliot turned a corner to head down another street, and _froze_.

_It couldn't be._ But it was. There, down at the end of the street, a man was looking at a cart full of swords. He had on a sleeveless vest and gray pants, and he had a rather wild hair style. And there, imprinted on the back of his vest, was a red boar drawn in a red circle.

Eliot dropped his fruit and stared at the man with a look of utter shock. _It's him, _he thought as he started walking towards the man. _I've found him._ Eliot pushed people aside as he quickened his pace. _After all this time, I've finally found him! The man who murdered my…_ Then Eliot stopped and his look of shock turned to sadness. _My Mom. Dad. Sarah. He killed them. He killed them!_ A tear rolled down his cheek as his eyes wavered. But then, something else stirred inside him. Memories of his home ran through his head, all the wonderful times he had. His family, his home, everything he ever loved, gone!

_He did it._ Now he could feel the anger, the hatred he had for this man coursing through his body, washing away all other feelings, driving out all other thoughts. _He killed them._ Eliot started walking again, and then broke out into a run. _He killed them! He did it! He killed them all!_ Eliot was all but flying down the street now, heedless of everything around him. _I'll kill you. I'll kill you! For what you did to me, I swear I'll KILL YOU!_

As he covered the last few feet between the two of them, Eliot roared with hate and launched himself straight at the man who'd ruined his life.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few blocks over and a few minutes ago… 

"So Will, any ideas on what we're looking for?" said a slightly bemused Irma.

"Or how we're going to find it?" added Taranee.

"Uhhh, well…" Will never finished the sentence. The three Guardians had just arrived in Terendel, and like Eliot, they'd been rather overwhelmed by the number of people. Hay Lin and Cornelia, on the other hand, were overwhelmed in a different way.

"Oooh! Just look at these fabrics! Can you imagine the kinds of outfits I could make with these?"

"Oh wow, look! Aren't these earrings just gorgeous?"

"Cool! They have pants for people with legs _and _tails! That is so awesome!"

"Forget those! Just look at these outfits! Don't you think I'd look fabulous in one of them?"

While Hay Lin and Cornelia ran back and forth across the streets, looking at all the jewelry, trinkets, and clothing, Will, Irma, and Taranee kept discussing how they were going to search for the new threat.

"Maybe we should split up," suggested Taranee.

"Uh-uh," said Will. "This guy's supposed to be more dangerous than anything we've ever faced. I don't want one of us running into him without the others to back her up."

"Look at this place!" shouted Irma. "We don't even know what this guy looks like. How are we supposed to find him? For all we know, it could be that lizard guy, or that bird thing!"

Will looked around at all the strange creatures and said, "I guess we'll just have to search the city and look for anyone acting suspiciously."

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Irma said sarcastically.

Sighing, Will said, "All right. Let's get the others and start looking."

BOOM!

"What was that?" screamed Irma.

"It sounded like and explosion!" said Taranee.

Will pointed down the street and said, "Over there!"

The five of them heard screaming, and then they could see a mob of people running down the street, all running away from something. They looked terrified.

"I don't know about you, but where I come from, that definitely qualifies as suspicious." Irma remarked.

"That's our cue, girls!" Will said, putting on her 'leader face'. "Let's go!"

"Hey, Hay Lin, Cornelia! We're moving out. Come on!" shouted Irma.

The air and earth guardians nodded, and together the five Guardians flew off to face whatever danger awaited them.

* * *

Next time on The Dark Guardian: The Guardians square off against Eliot in a no-holds barred throw down. Will the Guardians prevail? Will Eliot prove too strong? Will the world ever be the same again? And will I ever stop asking questions? Tune in next time for the exciting second part of The Dark Guardian: Powers Collide! Oh, and please review. Till next time, see ya! 


	6. Powers Collide pt2

I'm BACK, BABY! And better than ever! Finally, summer is over and I have access to a computer again! Woot! God, this has been the longest chapter yet, and I'm hoping it'll attract more reviewers. Remember, your comments kept this story alive through the summer, and they'll keep it going for much longer. KnightofFaerun, Demmie, this is for you!

Disclaimer: this is my story, and while I don't own W.I.T.C.H. every original character is mine. Mineminemineminemine! So hands off!

Part 1

_Nope. No good._ The man named Aramel stood in front of the stand looking disinterestedly at the swords hanging from the rack. _These are more ceremonial than useful. The kind of frilly, decorative stuff those stuffy aristocrats we rob would wear to a party. Fun to show off but not much use for pillaging._ He smirked at that last thought. _Yeah, I can just picture it. Me holding up a noble's carriage waving that silly thing around. I'd be the laughing stock of the whole group._ He laughed quietly to himself as he looked over all the ridiculously over-decorated blades. _I wonder what-_

" RrrrAAAAAH!"

_What the-_ was all he had time to think before something ran up and tackled him! The next thing he knew, he'd been pushed through the sword stand, and was lying face down in a pile of broken lumber and swords. Before he could even try to get up, someone grabbed him from behind, lifted him up, turned him around, and pinned his back against the wall with his feet hanging a foot off the ground

"YOU!" the person screamed.

Aramel looked down to see who was holding him. _What the, _he thought. _A boy?_

"DAMN YOU!" Then the boy lifted him off the wall, turned around and hurled the helpless raider back down the street. Aramel must've flown sixty feet through the air before he landed, bouncing off the ground once before he came to a rolling stop.

Aramel groaned and coughed as he struggled to get to his feet. He could only get on his hands and knees, however, before he had to stop and catch his breath. As he knelt there, his arms trembling with the effort it took just to lift him up, he could hear everyone around him running away, screaming in terror. Lifting his head, Aramel looked back to see what the young man was doing.

What he saw was almost enough to make him wet himself. The white-haired stranger was walking towards him with a furious expression on his face. A black aura flared around him and his eyes were glowing a brilliant white. As if that wasn't enough, tiny bolts of blue-tinged lightning were streaking out of those eyes, and larger bolts were shooting out of his body, breaking poles and shattering windows as he walked by them.

_Oh Gods,_ Aramel thought, and he began to tremble in fear. _H-he's some kind of demon! He's going to…Oh Gods, no!_ With a sudden burst of fear-induced strength, Aramel scrambled to his feet and tried to run for his life.

"Oh no you don't!"

With superhuman speed, the dark youth closed the distance between them in a second and knocked him down with a hit to his back.

The dark-clad stranger stood over the bandit's body and said, "You took everything away from me. My home, my family, everything I had. And now you're going to pay for it."

_What? What's he talking about-…Oh no,_ he realized. _He must be a survivor. Oh Gods, he's going to kill me!_ Aramel tried to crawl away again. "Please," he begged. "Please don't kill me!"

"Oh, don't worry." The boy said, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile. "I'm not going to kill you, yet." He placed his foot on the bandit's back and pushed the man down to the ground, forcing him to lie flat. As he did, the man began sobbing, certain that his time had come. "First you're going to tell me where I can find the rest of your friends. If you do, I'll try to make your death relatively painless."

Aramel didn't answer; he only continued to cry as his body shook with fear.

The boy's smile vanished and his eyes narrowed. "Don't feel like talking, eh? Let's see if a broken arm changes your mind."

The boy was just about to bend down and grab his arm when-

FWOOSH! Aramel couldn't believe it. A fireball had come out of nowhere and slammed into the demon-boy's chest! The impact knocked him off of Aramel, dispelled his aura, and sent him crashing to ground where he lay on his back, stunned.

Then Aramel witnessed yet another sight, only this one was of beauty. A brown-skinned girl, dressed in a pink, blue, and green outfit, flew down and landed next to him.

She looked down and said "Are you okay, sir?"

Aramel only nodded in awe at this being, which'd flown down like an angel to save him from certain death.

"Good. You'd better get out of here," she said, and then turned to face the teen, who was slowly getting up.

The girl then swept her arm from left to right, and a blazing line of fire drew itself between her and the boy. After that, she thrust her hand into the air, and the line shot up to become a raging wall of flame that completely blocked the road.

The girl looked at Aramel again, who hadn't moved.

"You really should get going. I don't know how long I can hold him off."

That snapped Aramel out of his awe-induced stupor, and so he scrambled to his feet and ran off.

_I'm alive,_ he thought as he fled down the street. _Thank the Gods. So help me, if I ever come here again, it'll be too soon._

Part 2

Eliot lay on his back, spread-eagled and thinking, _what just hit me?_ Grunting, he lifted himself up into a sitting position and looked at the wall of fire that had suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Where did that come from?"

"Hey!" someone yelled. "Over here!"

Eliot whirled his head around to look behind him, expecting some threat. What he saw, however, definitely did not look like any threat he had ever seen. Four girls dressed in strange, bright outfits were standing a couple yards away from him.

As he got to his feet, a fifth girl flew down and joined them. Eliot noticed that this girl's hands were on fire. _Is she the one who hit me?_

"Who are you?" he yelled back.

The red-haired girl, who seemed to be the leader, answered. "We're the Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions. And I take it you're the guy we've been searching for."

_The Guardians?_ "What do you want with me?"

"We're here to stop you from hurting any more innocent people! So why don't you just give up and save yourself a beating?"

_Innocent people? What is she talking about…_gasp! _Oh my God, the bandit!_ Eliot turned around and looked at the fire wall. _He's on the other side!_

Without a second thought, Eliot ran straight through the wall and emerged on the other side, virtually unscathed. He looked down at where he'd left the man, but he wasn't there. He wasn't anywhere in sight.

Eliot stood there in shock, staring at the place where the man had laid. _He got away?_ It couldn't be. _After all this time, after all that waiting, after everything that happened, everything I've been through, he got away!_

Eliot didn't notice when the firewall disappeared. Nor did he hear the Guardians calling out to him. He did notice, however, when the ceramic pot hit him in the back of the head. Hard.

"Ow!" he yelled as he grabbed the back of his head. Turning around, Eliot saw Cornelia holding her hand out.

"Hey!" she shouted at him. "We're talking to you!"

Eliot looked back at them, and his eyes widened with realization.

"You."

"I think you got his attention," Hay Lin said to Cornelia.

"You did it." His hands clenched into fists, and his eyes narrowed.

"Why am I thinking that's not such a good thing?" Taranee asked.

Eliot screamed with rage as the dark aura flared around him again. "YOU LET HIM GET AWAY! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!"

And with that, Eliot leapt straight toward the girls, breaking into a full-out sprint.

"I've got it!" Irma shouted, and darted in front of the others. Throwing her hands out in front of her she cried "Water!" and let loose a wave big enough to flood the entire street.

The wall of water thundered down the road, swallowing everything in its path, including the dark-clad warrior. Irma kept the deluge up for a few more moments till she was sure that he'd been carried away before she stopped.

As the water level dropped, she turned to face the girls with a satisfied look on her face.

"There, that wasn't so tough," she said smugly.

Cornelia crossed her arms over her chest and said, "You know you could've saved some for us, couldn't you?"

The other girls broke out laughing and Irma playfully replied, "Gee, I'm sorry, Corny. Next time I'll let you tackle him first."

Cornelia _humphed_ and looked away while the others continued laughing.

And because everyone was looking the other way or had their eyes closed, no one noticed the figure emerging from the receding water. Which is why when Irma felt someone tap on her shoulder, she turned around only to have Eliot's black-gloved hand grab her throat and lift her off the ground.

"Irma!" cried Will when she opened her eyes and saw them.

The others all stood frozen at the young man who, besides being soaking wet, was otherwise unharmed.

Irma struggled to breathe as she clawed weakly at Eliot's arm. Looking down at his face, she saw the blue-eyed warrior look back and say to her, with the beginning of a smile, "My turn."

With that, Eliot focused his energy, and sent a jolt of lightning straight into the water guardian. Irma screamed as the electricity shocked through her entire body, causing her hair to stand on end, and making her limbs spasm uncontrollably.

"No!" Hay Lin screamed.

Taranee raised an arm at Eliot and prepared to launch a fireball.

"Let her go!" she cried, but Cornelia blocked her path before she could fire.

"Don't! You might hit Irma!"

Eliot then ceased his electric attack and relaxed his grip on the girl's neck. Irma hung loosely from his hand, her limbs dangling limply and a faint trail of smoke rising off of her. Her eyes were closed.

Taranee pushed past Cornelia and told him to let Irma go again. Eliot looked over at the fiery guardian and the hard look in her eyes. With a slightly cruel smile he said "As you wish," and tossed the unconscious girl to the side. She landed on the floor and lay there without moving.

Now Taranee was normally a quiet person, rather timid and cautious. But when she was a guardian, she felt emboldened, more aggressive. Now, after seeing this man hurt her friend so much, without even batting an eye, the fire guardian felt something else. An uncontrollable anger rose up within her, crying out for justice.

"Why you-!" she yelled, and fired a searing-hot ball of flame straight at the dark warrior. Eliot dodged aside with ease, and ran straight toward the raging guardian. Taranee let loose three more fireballs, but Eliot effortlessly dodged each of them without even having to stop. Before she knew it, Eliot closed to within an inch of her face. Caught off guard, she jerked her head away from his, the fire in her hands disappearing.

With another small smile, he said "Nice try." The next thing Taranee felt was Eliot's fist slamming into her diaphragm with overwhelming force, driving the air straight out of her. Her eyes bugged as she doubled over, clutching her stomach as she fell to her knees. Darkness clouded her eyes, and the last thing she heard before falling unconscious was someone saying "Two down."

Part 3

_This'll be easier than I thought,_ Eliot said to himself as he stood over the body of the fallen fire guardian. He'd barely let out a small "heh" when a blast from behind sent him flying down the road. And I mean literally flying, as he cart-wheeled end over end as a tremendous gust of wind blew him down the street.

As Eliot tried to right himself, he spotted a large wooden pole sticking out of the ground, one of the few things that hadn't been washed away by Irma's wave. Eliot grabbed the pole with both hands, and hung on for all his might as the gale-force winds continued to blow.

Now he could look back and see Hay Lin hovering in front of the others, her hands extended towards him and a look of concentration on her face. Behind her, Will knelt over Irma's body, trying to see if she was okay. Cornelia was doing the same for Taranee.

Eliot realized that if he didn't do something, Hay Lin was going to blow him all the way out of town. Even now, he could feel the pole giving way under him. So he did the first thing that came to him. He let one of his hands go and aimed it at the wind guardian. Focusing on that hand, he created a ball of dark energy. With a grunt, he shot the ball straight at her, before losing his own grip and letting go of the pole.

Hay Lin gasped as she saw the ball streaking towards her, unimpeded by the wind. With a gasp, she lowered her hands and shot straight up into the sky to avoid it. The ball rocketed past the others, and exploded against the wall of a building.

With the guardian of air no longer concentrating on it, the winds died down, letting Eliot fall to the ground. Getting to his feet, he ran a hand through his hair and laughed quietly. "That was something," he said to no one, then started running back towards the girls.

Cornelia watched Eliot get to his feet, and then shouted at Hay Lin to come back down and look after Taranee. Then she got to her feet and walked towards the boy. _Looks like it's my turn,_ she thought.

"Cornelia, wait!" Will yelled.

The earth guardian turned around to look at her leader's worried face. She flashed the red-head a confident smile and said "Don't worry, I got this. Just make sure Irma's all right." Without waiting for a reply, she turned back and ran off towards the dangerous youth.

Eliot and Cornelia stopped about ten feet away from each other. Looking back, Cornelia saw she'd put over a hundred feet between herself and the others. _Wow,_ she thought, _Hay Lin sure blew him far._ She looked back at the black-coated teen and grinned confidently. _Now I don't have to worry about hurting the others._

"You sure are confident to come face me by yourself, especially after seeing what I did to the others."

"Thanks, but don't think I'll be so easy to beat. Now that I'm not surrounded by my friends, I don't have to hold anything back."

"Really?" Eliot's smiled back at the blonde. "Well, then, show me what you've got."

"Gladly."

Eliot charged forward and prepared to slug her, but Cornelia raised a stalagmite in front of her to block him. Eliot stopped in front of the rock and hit it hard. The top half shattered under his enhanced strength, but then Corny lifted the bottom half off the ground and shoved it into his chest. The rock carried him back a few feet before he dug his legs into the ground and stopped himself. He shattered the bottom half with another hit and charged Cornelia again, but the girl raised another one between them. Eliot dodged to the side to go around it, and ran straight into a dozen vines that Cornelia had grown behind the rock. He tried to bat the vines away, but instead they wrapped around his arm, lifted him off the ground, and threw him back.

Getting to his feet, Eliot continued his efforts to defeat her, but Cornelia's defense was too strong. Every time he got near her, those vines would stop him, and chopping them off did no good, since the earth guardian grew more instantly. Likewise his lightning bolts and balls of dark energy proved useless. Cornelia just raised pillars of stone to take the hits for her, and his attacks were thwarted. After breaking down another barrier of rock, he let out a growl and stamped his foot.

"Aww, feeling a little frustrated? Maybe you should just give up and save yourself the humiliation."

"Shut up!"

Eliot put up his guard and thought. _So far I've just been straight out attacking her. I've got to try something else._ In his head, Eliot listed all the powers at his disposal. One in particular made him smile.

Concentrating, Eliot gathered his energy and ran towards Cornelia one more time. But before he got halfway towards her, he stuck out his hand like he did to shoot out a bolt of black lightning. Cornelia was prepared for his attack, already shifting a small boulder into place. But what came out of his hand wasn't a bolt or a ball. Instead, darkness itself came out of his extended hand, and spread out to cover everything in its path. Before Cornelia could do anything, she was swallowed by it.

"What is this?" she yelled. Everything had gone pitch black. She couldn't see anything, not the street, not the rock floating a few feet in front of her, not even her own hand in front of her face. _Am I blind?_

"Like it?" came a voice from nowhere. It echoed strangely in the dark, a haunting voice that sounded very familiar. "It's a simple darkness spell. One of the first tricks I ever learned. Everything around me is swallowed by darkness, completely blocking out all vision. Can't hit what you can't see, right?"

Eliot laughed mockingly at Cornelia, who was now feeling very vulnerable. "You can't see anything either, idiot. How are you gonna beat me if you can't see me?"

"Who says I can't see you?" Cornelia looked around, but couldn't see anything in the inky blackness. But then, something caught her eye. Two points of light were glowing somewhere to her left. When she looked at them, she couldn't suppress the feeling that something was looking at her.

"Guess who?" The voice was definitely coming from the direction of the lights now.

Unnerved by the haunting lights, Cornelia struck out at them with the rock she had raised. Though she couldn't see it, she could feel the rock moving through her magical powers towards the light. But before it could hit its target, the lights faded and disappeared.

Cornelia heard the rock hit the ground but wasn't sure if she'd hit her target. The darkness was overwhelming. It was like she was standing in endless nothingness. The voice came again, but from a different direction this time.

"Missed me," the voice taunted, and the lights came glowing back, this time from her right.

Cornelia struck again with her vines, but like before the lights faded before they could reach him.

Cornelia was feeling very scared now. She was taking short, deep breaths and kept looking around her, looking for something, anything.

"What's the matter, feeling a little scared, Guardian? I didn't know you were afraid of the dark?"

"I'm not. Shut up already" she yelled into the emptiness.

"No, of course not. No one's ever really afraid of the dark. What they're afraid of is what's hiding in the dark. You stopped being afraid once you realized there weren't any monsters hiding under your bed and in your closet. But this time's different." Eliot's cruel laughter seemed to come from everywhere as Cornelia backed away.

"This time," he said, as the glowing lights appeared a front of Cornelia again, "there is something hiding in the dark."

Now she knew. Those lights, they were his eyes, and as she watched the lights came closer and closer, they were coming right at her! Letting out a scream, she flung her arms out and sent a stream of dirt at them while she fell back. The lights faded again, and the laughter with it.

Cornelia scrambled to her feet and looked everywhere. Then the voice came again, this time sounding almost playful.

"Oh Guardiaaaaan, there's one last thing I want to saaaay."

Cornelia's body was shaking with fear, but she froze when Eliot whispered right in her ear, so closely she could feel his breath on her skin.

"Good night, little girl."

Part 4

Will looked over at the hemisphere of darkness that Eliot had created. She was worried about what was happening, but she was too worried to go and see. The way Eliot had hurt Irma and Taranee, taking them out so easily, had seriously scared her. At least they were still alive. Will looked down at Irma's body, unconscious but still breathing. _I can't be scared. They need me._

Suddenly, the dark sphere just evaporated, faded away into nothing. Will looked up and stared. There he was, the dark figure they had come to fight, standing over the unconscious form of her friend. _No, not her. Why'd I let her go on her own?_ The white-haired teen then turned to face the red-head and started walking towards her. At first Will was terrified, but she reminded herself: _I am the leader of the Guardians. I have to stand up to this guy. Even if it's just me and…_ Will looked over at Hay Lin, who was getting up from Taranee's unconscious form. She looked over at Will, and smiled like she always did, big and bright. Will couldn't help but smile back at her. _Guess it's my turn now._ Will stood up, and the two of them walked over to Eliot. They met halfway between the bodies of their friends.

"Hay Lin, I want you to go get Cornelia. Bring her back over here with the others."

"What? There's no way I'm leaving you here to take him on yourself."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Besides, if you let loose a blast of air here, there's a chance Corny could get caught in it and blown away."

"But,"

"No buts, Hay Lin. Hurry up and get her."

With that, Hay Lin flew off to get her friend out of the way. Of course, it shouldn't take very long. But then, considering how quickly Eliot dispatched Irma and Taranee, Will didn't really have a lot of time.

"So I get to play with you now? Pity, I really wanted to save the leader for last."

"Gee, sorry to disappoint."

"No no, no need to feel sorry. I mean it's not like I'm not going to be taking care of the wind girl once I'm done with you."

"I'm not going to let you hurt them."

"Like you have a choice!"

Tired of the conversation, Eliot charged the Keeper of the Heart, letting out a battle-cry as he neared her. Will launched a lightning bolt to knock him back, but Eliot wasn't going to have any of that; he made a prodigious leap, jumping over Will and landing behind her.

Will turned around only to see Eliot's fist as it collided with her face. The impact nearly made her fall back, and she struggled to stay on her feet as her hands went up to her nose. Unfortunately, "nearly" wasn't good enough for Eliot. He continued to assault Will, and since she'd never had any training in hand-to-hand combat it didn't take long to knock her to the ground, bruised and battered.

Eliot stood over the prone Guardian, a grim expression on his face. "And so it ends."

Holding his hand up to his face, Eliot gathered his strength one last time to finish her. Dark, blue-tinged lightning sparked in his hand, wrapping around his fingers until the entire hand was shaking from the power gathered in it. As he lifted his charged fist over his head, Will closed her eyes and braced for the end.

But the next thing she heard wasn't Eliot's triumphant yell. Instead, she heard him cry out in surprise, as well as the sound of…water? Her eyes shot open and she pushed herself up to see where she'd left her aquatic friend.

"Irma!" Hay Lin yelled as she struggled to carry Cornelia's unconscious body over to them through the air. Since the earth guardian was too heavy to lift by hand, Hay Lin was using her power over the air to levitate her as gently as she could.

Looking behind her, Will saw Eliot getting to his feet, making weird noises that told her he must have gotten water up his nose. Not wanting to face him alone anymore, she got to her feet and rejoined the others.

"You're all right," she said to her recovering friend.

"Hey, you know it takes more than a few lightning bolts to keep me down." _Though not much more,_ Will thought as she looked at Irma's battered form. The water guardian was barely able to stand, and she was definitely breathing hard.

"We should get you out of here. You're in no condition to fight."

"Don't worry about me. I have enough left to take this guy down. Hey, Hay Lin. Ready to help?"

"What'd you have in mind?"

"I thought I'd show him what it really means to get the 'cold shoulder.'"

The Chinese girl's face brightened, and the two of them put their hands together and faced their opponent, who was actually still occupied with his water-clogged nose.

"Frickin' bitches, can't believe it…" Eliot swore as he tried to clear his sinuses. Then Eliot glanced toward the girl's in time to see two of them launch a blast of white stuff. Straight at him!

"What!" Caught off guard, Eliot only managed to put up his arms to block the attack. But while that may have worked against water, this was ice. As soon as it touched his skin, the ice spread across his body, freezing everything it came in contact with. Before he could do anything about it, Eliot found himself frozen within a ten-foot case of ice.

"Ha ha!" Will screamed triumphantly when it was over. And if that wasn't enough, Taranee and Cornelia chose that time to wake up.

"Uhhhh…Did we win?" asked the brown-skinned pyro.

"Do you think she'd be cheering if we hadn't?" Cornelia responded.

"You're all right!"

Hay Lin, ecstatic and exuberant as always, ran over to give Cornelia a back-breaking hug.

"Ow, Hay Lin! I'm hurt!"

"Oh, sorry."

Will and Irma joined them, joyful over their victory.

"Well, I'd say that this turned out all for the best, huh?"

"Speak for yourself, Irma. I'm gonna be sore for a week."

"Aw, now that just won't do. How are you gonna make out with Caleb if you have a sore back?"

"_Irma!_"

Part 5

Locked away inside a block of ice, unable to move a single muscle, Eliot raged. _Aaargh! It wasn't supposed to be this way!_ Struggling to no avail, he desperately thought,_ How did this happen!_

Eliot wasn't expecting an answer, but he got one anyway. From out of nowhere, an utterly calm voice spoke inside his head. _How do you think it happened?_

_What, Master?_

_Who else?_

_Please, Master, get me out of here?_

_Why?_

_Why!_

_Why should I help someone who falls so easily?_ Now the Master's voice had an edge to it.

_They just caught me off guard, that's all!_

There were a few moments of silence, and Eliot got the sense of something building up in the back of his mind just before the Master's voice roared in his head, screaming with rage that made Eliot's head throb with pain.

_Idiot! Why do you think that happened, Eliot! How could someone with your training, your power, lose to these nothings!_

_I...I_

_I'll tell you how! It's because you lost your focus! You forgot why you were fighting them! Have you already forgotten why you trained so hard? Why you fought day and night for six months? Have you already forgotten your family!_

Those last words cut through Eliot's anger like a knife, and he stopped struggling as the Master spoke again, this time in a pained voice.

_Did you forget what happened to them? How they died at the hands of those monsters, and how you felt when you saw their bodies? Did you forget the pain it brought you, staring into your mother's dead eyes and holding your sister's limp body in your arms?_

Tears ran down Eliot's face as those words sank in

_How could you forget them, Eliot?_

_I didn't forget them._ The bitterness in Eliot's voice was painful to hear.

_You didn't? It's hard to believe that, when here you are, frozen in ice._

_I didn't forget them!_ The bitterness was still there, but now there was anger too. Eliot could almost feel his master's eyes staring at him, judging him.

_If you didn't forget them, boy, then tell me: What did you promise?_

The tears kept flowing, but the look in Eliot's eyes was anything but sad.

_I promised that I'd become strong. Strong enough to punish the ones who destroyed my life!_

Gathering all the dark power inside him, Eliot tried once more to break free of the ice. His eyes glowed, his aura flared, and with a great scream of rage, Eliot's icy prison shattered.

_"I will not lose,"_ Eliot siad. Looking down the street, he saw the Guardians staring back at him in disbelief. "_I will never lose to you, or anyone ever again!"_ Once again, Eliot gathered all the strength left in his body for one last attack. As he did, the sky itself seemed to darken, turning from a light blue to an overcast gray as if a terrible storm was gathering . As the girls watched, Eliot's very skin seemed to darken, turning black as night. Even his hair became pitch black. Only his eyes continued to glow, and indeed, they seemed to burn brighter against his ebony skin.

Finally, after summoning all the power he could hold, Eliot flung out arms and screamed once again as he let loose a shockwave of purple energy in all directions. As it raced towards them, Will only had time to cry "Watch out!" before it hit.

Part 6

"Uhhhh…" Will moaned as she lay on her back. Her whole body felt like one big bruise. Even though it hurt like hell to move, she tried to get up anyway. As she lifted herself up into a sitting position, Will looked around her to see where she was. The other Guardians lay around her in a pile of rubble that might have once been a building. They were all unconscious, and they all looked as bad as she felt. So did everything else, for that matter. It looked like the entire area for at least a few blocks had been decimated. Buildings lay in ruins, and the streets were littered with rubble. But all that mattered little to Will, as her gaze fell on one person.

"Gasp! _Irma!_" Will rushed to her side and knelt over her. Irma lay unconscious on the ground, but what scared the red-head was the large wound in Irma's side that was bleeding freely. A small pool of blood was already spreading on the ground.

"Oh no, no!" Will gently put her hand on the wound, then pulled it back, covered in blood. As she stared at her hand, and then at Irma, tears began to well up in her eyes. "Irma?" she said, her voice beginning to tremble. "Irma, please, you can't die. You can't die on me, Irma! _Irma!_" But the water guardian couldn't hear her. Will began to cry in earnest, laying her head down on Irma's body, her hand touching the wound again.

_No, no,_ she thought. _I can't let her die. I just can't! Sob I have to do something. I have to save her!_ Then, as she lay there, crying her heart out, she felt a sudden warmth in her palm. Lifting herself up, Will saw that the hand touching Irma's wound was glowing softly. What's more, as she watched her hand, the wound in Irma's side began to heal itself. The blood stopped flowing, and her skin was sewing itself back together seamlessly.

_I can't believe it,_ Will thought as she began to smile. _She's healing? I'm…healing her?_ Will sighed in relief, and her smile grew. But then, the sound of footsteps came to her ears, and she turned to see where they were coming from.

Eliot. There he was, walking towards her with that cold, hateful stare in his eyes. This was almost too much for Will to handle. _He's back? I can't fight him now. I'm exhausted!_ She could only watch as Eliot glanced at the ground, then bend over and pick up a sword that was lying there. Pulling the blade from its sheath he said, "So, this is how it ends." Eliot looked at the last standing Guardian, and charged. Will was too hurt, too tired, and too frightened to do anything as he closed in. The only thing left for her to do, as he raised his blade to strike and ran the last few feet between them, was close her eyes and wait for the end.

But it didn't come. Will waited, but nothing happened. After a few very tense seconds, she cracked her eyes open.

Eliot was standing there, with his blade inches away from her face. But for some reason, he wasn't moving. The expression on his face caught Will's attention. _He looks…terrified._ Eliot was taking short gasps of air through his nose, and his eyes were wide with fear. His whole body was shaking now, and he slowly began to shake his head.

"No," he said, taking a hesitant step back. "It can't be…" Eliot continued to back away, dropping his sword on the floor while staring at Will. "It can't…you can't…"

Will had no idea what was going on, but she felt like she should do something. So she struggled to her feet, and took a small step toward him. "No!" he screamed, and before she could do anything, he turned and ran off. Will stood there, dumbstruck, watching him go, when a moan from her side drew her attention back to reality. Irma was still there, and not all of her injuries were healed. So Will sat back down, and concentrated on the warm feeling in her hands. After her new powers had finished healing Irma, she went to the others, one by one, making sure they were completely healed. But with every use of her healing power, Will felt more and more tired. Already exhausted to begin with, by the time she reached the last guardian, she felt ready to collapse at any moment. "Finally," she said as Hay Lin's cuts finished healing. "They're safe. They're all…safe…" With all her energy gone, Will fell down next to Hay Lin's unconscious form, and fell asleep.

Ending

Falls back into his chair and sighs Done. Finally. I swear, if I ever write another chapter this long again, it'll be too soon. Anyway, what d'you think? It's my first battle scene so go easy on me. My God, this took forever. Or maybe it just feels that way. Great way to kick off my return from summer, eh? Well, as always, tell me what you think. No flames, please, I'm too tired for flames. Look forward to your thoughts, Knight. Well, anyway, time to start the next chapter. Oh, and for first time readers, please review. As I said at the beginning, it's your comments that keep this story alive. Till next time, see ya!


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